Naval stories

NAVAL STORIES

William Leggett

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NAVAL STORIES-

13 Y WILLIAM LEGGETT,
i i

I litre loTttl Ibce, Oo*an ! »nii my joy
Of youthful »poiti wai on thy brosl to be
Born<t )'ic thy t'illowj, cawnrJi.

Byrttk

SECOND EDITION,

NEW-YORK:

G. ^ C. CARVILL&, CO

No. JOS Broadwav. /\

'^f\

1835. \

LOAN STAO?

J

Entered, ao.cordlng to &ct of Congress, in the ycnr 1S34, by
WILLIAM LEGGETT, in the Clerk's otlico of tlic District Court
of the United Statei for the Southern District of New- York.

JAMER VAN NORDIN, HUNTER.

CONTENTS.

PAOX.

Tho Encounter, 9

A Night at Gibraltar, t , 33

Merry Terry, Cl

The Mess.Chest, « 87

Tho Main Truck, or a Leap for Life, 109

Firo and Water, 127

Brought to the Gangway, 151

A Watch in the Main Top, 181

072

»"•• j

THE ENCOUNTER.

A

THE ENCOUNTER.

One universal shriek there rushed,
Louder than tho loud ocean, liko a crash

Of echoing thunder; and then all was hushed—
Save the wild wind, and tie remorseless dash

Of billows. . £yron..

THE Active, Sloop of War, had been lying all
day becalmed, in mid ocean, and was rolling ani
pitching in a heavy ground swell, which was tho
only trace led of the gale she had lately encoun
tered. The sky was of as tender and serene a bluo
as if it had never been deformed with clouds ; and
the atmosphere was bland and pleasant, although
the latitude and the season might both have led one
to expect different weather. Since the morning
watch, when the wind, after blowing straight an end
for several days together, had died suddenly away,
there had not been enough air stirring to lift tho
dog-vane from its staff, down which it hung in mo
tionless repose, except when raised by the heave of
the vessel, as she laboured in the trough of the sea.
Her courses had been hauled up, and she lay under

12 THE ENCOUNTER.

her threo topsails, braced on opposite tacks, ready
to take advantage of the first breath of wind, from
whatever quarter it might come.

The crew were disposed in various groups about
the deck, some idling away in listless ease the inter
val of calm ; some, with their clothes-bags besid.i
them, turning it to account in overhauling their dun
nage; while others moved fidgety about, on the
forecastle and in the waist, eyeing, ever and anon, the
horizon round, as if already weary of their short
holiday on the ocean, and impatiently watching for
some sign of a breeze. To a true sailor there arc
few circumstances more annoying than a perfect
calm. The same principle of our nature which
makes the traveller on land, though journeying with
out any definite object, desire the postilion to whip
up his horses and hasten to the end of his stage, is
manifested in a striking degree ai* • -ig seamen. The
end of one voyage is but the beginning of another,

* O O '

and their life is a constant succession of hard
ships and perils; yet they cannot abide that the
elements should grant them a moment's respite. As
the wind dies away their spirits /lag; they move
heavily and sluggishly about while the calm con
tinues; but rouse at the first whisper of the breeze,
and arc never gayer or more' animated than when
their canvass swells out to its utmost tension in the
gale.

On the afternoon in question, this feeling of rest-

THE ENCOUNTER. 13

Icssncss at the continuance of the calm was not con*
fined to the crew of the Active. Her commander
had been nearly all day on deck, walking to and fro,
on the starboard side, with quick impatient strides,
or now stepping into one gangway, and now into tlio
other, and casting anxious and searching looks into
all quarters of the heavens, as if it were of the ut
most consequence that a breeze should spring up and
enable him to pursue his way. Indeed it was whis
pered among the officers, that there were reasons of
state which made it important they should reach
their point of destination as speedily as possible ;
though where that point-was, or what those reasons
were, not a soul on board knew, except the captain—
and he was nut a man likely to enlighten their
ignorance on the subject. Few words, in truth, did
any one ever hear from Black Jack, as the reefers
nicknamed him ; and when he did speak, what lie
said was not generally of a kind to make them desire
he should often break his taciturnity.

He was a straight, tall, stern-looking man, just
passed the prime of life, as might be inferred from
the wrinkles on his thoughtful brow, and the slightly
grizzled hue of the locks about his temples ; though
his hair, elsewhere, was as black as the raven. IJis
face bore the marks both of storm and battle : it was
furrowed and deeply embrowned by long exposure
to every vicissitude of weather ; arid a deep scar
across the left brow told a tale of dangers braved

14 THE ENCOUNTER.

and overcome. His eyes were large, black and
piercing; and the habitual compression and curve of
his lip indicated both firmness and haughtiness of
character — indications which those who sailed with
him had no reason to complain of as deceptive.

13ul notwithstanding his impatience, and the ur-
gcncy of his mission, whatever it was, the Active
continued to roil heavily about at the sport of the
big round billows, which swelled up and spread and
tumbled over so lazily, that their glassy surfaces
were not broken by a ripple. The sun went down
clear, but red and fiery ; and the sky, though its
blue faded to a duskier tint, still remained un flecked
by a single cloud. As the broad round disk disap
peared beneath the wave, all hands were called to
stand by thoir hanuno'cks ; and when the stir and
bustle incident to that piece of duty had subs'dcd,
an unwonted degree of stillness settled on the vessel.
Tin's was owing in part, no doubt, to the presence of
the commander, before whom the crew were not apt
to indulge in any great exuberance of merriment ;
but the sluggish and unusual state of the weather
had probably the largest share in the effect. The
captain continued on deck, pacing up and down the
starboard side ; the lieutenant of the watch leaned
over the fafirel, his trumpet idly dangling by its
bcckct from his. arm; and tho two quarter-deck
midshipmen walked in the gangway, beguiling their

THE ENCOUNTER. 15

watch with prattle about homo, or gay anticipations
of the future. *

"We .shall have a dull and lazy right of it,
Vangs," said the master's mate of the forecastle, as
he returned forward from adding on the log. si ate
another "ditto" to the long column of them which
recorded the history of the day. The person ho
addressed stood on the heel of the bowsprit, with his
arms folded on his breast, and his gaze fixed intently
on the western horizon, from which the daylight had
now so completely faded, that it required a practised
and keen eye to discern where the sky and water
met. He was a tall, square-framed, aged looking
seaman, whose thick gray hair shaded a strongly
marked and weather-beaten face, and whose shaggy
overcoat, buttoned to the throat, covered a form
that for forty years had breasted the storms and
perils of every sea. lie did not turn his head, nor
withdraw his eyes from the spot they rested on, as
he said, in a low tone, " We shall have work enough
before morning, Mr. Garnet."

" Why, where do you read that, Vangs?" inquired
the midshipman— •" thcro is nothing of the sort in
my reckoning."

"I read it in a book I have studied through many
a long cruise, Mr. Garnet, and though my eyes aro
getting old, I think I can understand its meaning yet.
Hark ye, young man, the hammocks aro piped down,

A3

1(5 THE ENCOUNTER.

and the watch is set; but there will be no watch in

this night — mark my words."

" Why, Vangs, you arc turning prophet," replied
the master's-mate, who was a* rattling young fellow,
full of blood and blue veins. "I shouldn't wonder
to sec you strike tarpauling when the cruise is up, rig
out in a Methodist's broad brim and straight togs,
and ship the next trip for parson."

" My cruisings arc pretty much over, Mr. Gar-
net, and my next trip, I am thinking, is one I shall
have to go alone — though there's a sign in the
heavens this night makes me fear I shall have but
too much company."

" Why, what signs do you talk of, mui ?" asked
the young officer, somewhat startled by the quiet
and impressive tone and mariner of the old quarter
master. " I see nothing that looks like a change of
weather, and yet I see all there is to be seen."

"I talked in the same way, once, I remember,"
said Vangs, "when I was about your age, as we lay
becalmed one night in the old Charlotte East India-
man, heaving and pitching in the roll of a ground
swell, much as we do now. The next morning
found me clinging to a broken topmast, the only
thing left of a fine ship of seven hundred tons, which,
with every soul on board of her, except me, had
gono to the bottom. That was before you were
born, Mr. Garnet."

THE ENCOUNTER. 17

" Such things have often been, no doubt,0 said
Garnet, " and such tilings will bo again — nay, may
happen as you say, before morning.- But because
you were once wrecked in a gale of wind that
sprung up out of a calm, it is no reason that every calm
is to be followed by such a gale. Show me a sign
of wind, and I may believe it ; but for my part, I see
no likelihood of enough even to blow away the
smoke of that cursed galley, which circles and
dances about here on the forecastle, as if it was
master's mate of the watch, and was ordered to keep
a bright look-out."

"Turn your eye in that direction, Mr, Garnet.
Do you not see a faint belt of light, no broader than
my finger, that streaks the sky where the sun went
down ? It is not daylight, for I watched that all
fade away, and the last glimmer of it was gono
before that dim brassy streak began to show itself.
And carry your eye in a straight line above it — do
you not mark how thick and lead-like the air looks?
There is that there," said the old man, (laying his
hand on the bowsprit, as he prepared to sit down
between the night-heads) " will try what stuff these
sticks are made of before the morning breaks."

Young Garnet put his hand over his brow, and
half shutting his eyes, peered intently in the direc
tion the old seaman indicated ; but no sign pregnant
with such evil as ho foreboded, or no appearance
even of the wished for breeze, met his vision. Irn-

18 TUB ENCOUNTER.

puling the predictions of Vangs to those megrims
which old sailors are apt to have in a long calm, or
perhaps to a desire to play upon his credulity, he
folded his pea-coat more closely about him, and
taking his seat on the nettings in such a position that
he could lean hack against the fore-rigging, pre
pared to settle himself down in that delicious state of
repose between sleeping and waking, in which he
thought he might with impunity doze away such a
quiet watch as his promised to be. lie had scarcely
closed his eyes, however, when a sound rung in his
cars that made him spring to the deck, and at once
dispelled all disposition to slumber. It was the clear
trumpet-like voice of the captain himself] hailing the
forecastle.

"Sir!" bawled the startled master's mate.

"Have your halliards clear for running, sir! —
your cluelines led along, and the men all at their
stations."

"Ay, ay,, sir!" sung Garnet in reply, and then
muttered to himself, " here's the devil to pay and no
pitch hot. What is the meaning of all this, I won
der? Has the skipper seen old Vangs's streak of
brass, too ? or does he hope to coax the wind out, by
raising such a breeze on deck ?" And he stepped
upon a shot box, and cast another long, searching
glance into the western horizon ; but there was no
sign there which to his inexperienced eye boded any
change of weather.

THE ENCOUNTEIl. 19

"Fo'castlc, there!" again sounded from the
quarter-deck, but it was now the voice of the lieute
nant of the watch, hailing through his trumpet,

"Sir !" answered the mate.

" Send the fo'castle-mcn aloft to furl the foresail.
Quarter-gunner and after-guard, do you hear ! lay
aloft— lay out — furl away !"

These and other similar orders were quickly
obeyed, and stillness again succeeded. But the at
tention of all on deck was now aroused ; and every
one watched in silence for some less questionable
forerunner of wind than was yet visible to their eyc».
They all noticed, however, that the sky had grown
thicker and of a dingier hue, and that not a single
star peeped through the gloom. But there was not
a breath of air yet stirring. The topsails continued
to flap heavily against the masts, as they were
swayed to and fro by the motion of the vessel ; tho
lower yards creaked in their slings ; and the ship
headed now one way and now another, as she yawed
and swung round, completely at the mercy of the
swell. The seamen gathered in groups at their
several stations, and waited in silence the result
which all now began to apprehend.

But while these feelings of indefinite fear were
entertained by those on deck, the watch below were
disturbed by no such anxiety. The officers in the
gun-room were variously occupied, according to
their different tastes and inclinations ; some amusing

20 t THE ENCOUNTER.

themselves by reading, some writing, and others
stretched upon the chairs or in their berths, dream
ing away the interval of rest. The midshipmen in
the steerage had gathered round their mess-table,
and were engaged in lively chat and repartee,
arid in cracking nautical jokes and witticisms
upon each oilier. ' Their discourse was plenti-
fully interlarded with sea-phrases ; for thcsc-juvcnilc
sons of Neptune, however slender their seamanship
in other respects, have commonly great volubility in
rattling off the technicals of their profession, and a
surprising facility in applying them to the ordinary
topics of conversation. With the omission of a
single letter, the distich describing Iludibras might
be applied to them, or, if a poor pun be allowable, it
may be said to fit them to a t, for

they cannot opo

Their mouths, but nut there fulls a ropo.

One of the merriest and noisiest of the group in
the Active's steerage was a little, rosy-cheeked,
bright-eyed reefer, whose flaxen hair curled in natu
ral ringlets around his temples, and was surmounted
by a small low-crowned tarpauling hat, cocked
knowingly on one side, in amusing imitation of the
style of the full-grown jack tar.

" Hullo, Jigger, how does she head now ?" cried
the little wag to one of the mcssboys, aj his bandy
legs made their appearance do\vn the companion
ladder.

THE ENCOUNTER. 21

"She head cbery which way, Misser Burton,"
answered the black, his shining face dilated with a.
prodigious grin, showing he relished the humour of
the question. "It is a dead calm on deck you«know,
Misser Burton, and de main yard is brace frat
aback."

"0, 1 sec," rejoined the urchin, "they have hovo
her to, Jigger, to give her half a lemon to keep her
from fainting. She has outsailed the wind, and is
lying by to wait for it."

" Lying by, indeed /" said another ; " she is going
like atop."

" And if she keeps on," added a third, "she will
soon go as fast as the Dutchman's schooner, when
she stood into port under a heavy. press of bolt-ropes,
the sails having blown clean out of them at sea."

"Oh, I heard of that schooner," resumed little
Burton, the first speaker. "It was she that sailed
so fast, that when they broke up her hatches, they
found she had sailed her bottom off."

"Her skipper," interrupted another, "was both
master and chief mate, and they made the duty easy
by dividing it between them, watch and watch."

"Yet the Dutchman grew so thin upon it," added
little Burton, " that when he got home his mother
and sister could'nt both look at him at once."

"And his dog," said the other, "got so weak, it
had to lean against the mast to bark."

l>: Come, come, take a turn there, and belay,"

22 THE ENCOUNTER.

cried one of the older midshipmen, who was stretched
at full length upon a locker. " Come, you have
chased that joke fur enough. ITcavc about, and see
if you can't give us something better on t'other
lack."

"Well, Tom Derrick, if you don't like our rigs,
tip us a twist, yourself. Come, spin us a yarn, my
boy, if you have your jaw-tacks aboard."

"No, no, Charley Burton, I can't pay out any
slack to-night. I am as sleepy as a lookout in a
calm. My eyes feel like the marine's when his cue
was served so taught, lie could'nt make his eyelids
meet. Hullo, Jigger, rouse out my hammock from
that heap and hang it up — you know which it is,
don't you?"

" Ki ! I wish I had as much tobacco as I know
which Misscr Derrick's hammock is!" eagerly re
plied the negro.

This characteristic speech produced a hearty burst
of laughter; and in chat and merriment of this sort
the evening slipped away, until the hour for extin
guishing the lights arrived, and the quarter-master
came down- to douse the glim.

"Well, \7angs," cried the ever ready Burton, "it

is blowing an Irishman's hurricane on deck, is'nt it

straight up and down, like a pig's eye?"

" It is all quiet yet," replied Yangs, " but the sky
has a queer look, and there will bo a hurricane of a

THE ENCOUNTER. 23

different sort before you are many hours older, Mr.
Charles."

" Is there really any prospect of wind?" asked the
midshipman we have called Derrick.

" There is something brewing in the clouds we
none of us understand," answered the old man, in
his low quiet tone. We shall have more wind than
\vo want before long, or I am out in my reckoning."

"Let it come but-cnd foremost, if it chooses, and
the sooner the better," said young Burton, laughing;
" any weather rather than this ; for this is neither
fish, flesh, nor red herring. Let it blow, Vangs, and
I would'nt mind if it were such a breeze as you had
in the old Charlotte, you know, when it blew the
Sheet-anchor into tho foretop, and took three men
to hold the captain's hair on his head."

The old quarter-master turned a grave and
thoughtful look on the round face of the lively boy,
and seemed meditating an answer that might repress
what probably struck him as untimely mirth ; but
even while he was in the act to speak, the tempest
he had predicted burst in sudden fury upon the
vessel. The first indication those below had of its
approach was the wild rushing sound of the gust,
which broke upon their ears like the roar of a vol.
cano. The heaving and rolling of the ship ceased
all at once, as if the waves had been subdued and
chained down by the force of a mighty pressure.
The vessel stood motionless an instant, as if instinct

24 THE* ENCOUNTER.

with life, and cowering in conscious fear of the ap
proaching strife; the tempest then burst upon her
but-cnd foremost, as Burton expressed it, and the
stately mass reeled and fell over before it, like a
tower struck down by a thunderbolt. The surge was
so violent that the ship was thrown almost on her
beam-ends, and every thing on board, not secured
in the strongest manner, was pitched with great
force to leeward. Midshipmen, mess-table, ham-
mocks, and the contents of the mess lockers, fell
rustling, rattling, and mixed in strange disorder, to
the Ice-scuppers; and when the ship slowly righted,
straining and trembling in every plank, it was a
moment or two before those who had been so un
expectedly heaped together in the bends, could ex
tricate themselves from the confusion, and make
their way to the upper deck.

There, a scene of fearful grandeur was presented.
The sky was of a murky, leaden hue, and appeared
to bend over the ship in a nearer and narrower arch,
binding the ocean in so small a round, that the eye
could trace, through the whole circle, the line where
the sickly looking heaven rested on the sea. The
air was thick and heavy; and the water, covered
with driving snow-like foam, seemed tD be packed
and flattened down by the fury of the blast, which
scattered its billows into spray as cutting as the sleet
of a December storm. The wind howled i^Aid
screamed through the rigging with an appalling

THE ENCOUNTER. 25

sound, that might be likened to the shrieks and wail.
ings of angry fiends ; and the ship fled before the
tempest, like an affrighted thing, with a velocity
that piled the watei in a huge bank around her
bows, and sent it off, whirling and sparkling, in lines
of dazzling whiteness, soon lost in the general huo
of the ocean, which resembled a wild waste of drift.
ing snow.

There was one^on deck, however, who had fore,
seen this awful change, arid made preparations to
meet it ; and when the tempest burst, in full, fell
swoop, upon his ship, it found nothing but the baro
hull and spars to oppose its tremendous power.
Every sail had been closely and securely furled, ex.
ceptthc fores to rm staysail, which was set for a reason
that seamen will understand ; but being hauled well
aft by both sheets, r: was stretched stiilly amidships,
and presented nothing but the bolt rope for the wind to
act upon. The masts and yards, with their snug
and well-bound rolls of canvass, alone encountered
the hurricane. But even these were tried to the
uttermost. The topmasts bent and creaked before
the blast, and the royal poles of the topgallantmasts,
which extended above the crosstrecs, whipped and
thrashed about like pliant rods. The running rig-
ging rattled against- the spars, and the shrouds and
backstays strained and cracked, as if striving to
draw the strong bolts which secured them to thd
vessel.

B,

20 THE ENCOUNTKR.

For more than an hour did the Active flee along
in this way, like a wild horse foaming and stretch-
ing at liis utmost speed, driven onward in the van of
the tempest, and exposed to its fiercest wrath. At
length, the first fury of the ga'e passed away, and
the wind, though still raging tempestuously, swept
over her with less appalling force. The ocean, now,
as if to revenge itself for its constrained inactivity,
roused from its brief repose, and swelled into billows
that rolled and chased each other with the wild glee
of ransomed demons. Wave upon wave, in multi
tudinous confusion, came roaring in from astern ;
and their white crests, leaping) ai!d sparkling, and
hissing, formed a striking feature in the scene. The
wind, fortunately, issued from the right point, and
drove the Active towards her place of destination.
The dun pall of clouds, which from the commence
ment of the gale, had totally overspread the heavens,
except in the quarter whence the blast proceeded,
now began to give way, and a reddish light shone
out here and there, iu long horizontal streaks, liko
the glow of expiring coals between the bars o"a fur
nace. •Though the first dreadful violence of the
storm was somewhat abated, it still raved with too
much fierceness and power to admit of any relaxa
tion of vigilance. The commander himself still re
tained the trumpet, and every oiilccr stood in silence
at his station, clingLng to whatever might assist him
to maintain his diilicult footing.

Till* ENCOUNTER. .27

"Light, oh !" cried the lookout on one of the cat
heads.

"Where away?" demanded the captain.

"Dead ahead."

" What does it look like, and how far off?" shouted
the captain, in a loud and earnest voice.

" Can see nothing now, sir ; the glim is doused."
, " Here, Mr. Burton," cried the commander, "take
this night glass ; jump aloft on the fbreyard, sir, and
see if you can make out any object ahead. Hurry
up, hurry up, and let me hear from you immediately,
sir ! Lay ail to the braces ! Forecastle, there! have
hands by your staysail sheets on both sides! fore-
yard, there!"

Bui before the captain had finished his hail, the
voice of little Burton was heard, singing out, "sail
oh!"

"What docs she look like, and where away?"

"A large vessel lying to under bare poles — star
board your helm, sir, quick — hard a starboard, or
you will fall aboard of her!"

This startling intelligence was hardly communi
cated before the vessel descried from aloft loomed
suddenly into siijlit from deck through the thick

r , ™ O

weather to leeward. ITcr dusk and shadowy form
seemed to rise up from the ocean, so suddenly did
it open to view, as the driving mist was scattered
for a moment. She lay right athwart the Active's
bows, and almost under her fore-foot — as it seemed

28 THE ENCOUNTER.

while she pitched into the trough of an enormous
sea — and the Active rode on the ridge of the sue-
cccding wave, which curled ahove the chasm, as if
to overwhelm the vessel beneath.

"Starboard your helm, quarter-master ! hard a-
starboard!" cried the commander of the Active, in
a tone of startling energy.

"Starboard!" repeated the deep solemn voice of
old Vangs, who stood on the quarter-nettings, his
tall f gure propped against the rnizcn rigging, and
his arm wreathed round the shroud.'

"Jump to the braces, men !" continued the captain
strenuously — "haul in your starboard braces, haul!
— case of]' your larboard ! does she come to, quarter
master ? — Fo'castle there ! ease off your larboard
staysail sheet — let all go, sir!"

These orders were promptly obeyed, but it was
too late for them to avail. The wheel, in the hands
'of four stout and experienced seamen, was forced
swiftly round, and the effect of the rudder was as.
sistcd by a pull of the starboard braces; but in such
a gale, and under bare poles, the helm exerted but
little power over the driving and ponderous mass.
She had headed off hardly a point from her course,
when she was taken up by a prodigious surge, and
borne onward with fearful velocity. The catastro
phe was now inevitable. In an instant the two
ships fell together, their massive timbers crashing
with the fatal force of the concussion. A wild

• THU ENCOUNTER. 29

shriek ascended from the deck of the stranger, and
woman's shrill voice mingled with the sound. All
was now confusion and uproar on board both ves
sels. The Active had struck the stranger broad on
the bows, while the bowsprit of the latter, rushing
in between the foremast and the starboard fore-
rigging of the Active, had snapped her shrouds and
stays, and torn up the bolts and chainplates, as if
they had been thread and wire. Staggering back
from the shock, she was carried to some distance by
a refluent wave, which suddenly subsiding, she gave
such a heavy lurch to port that the foremast — now
wholly unsupported on the starboard side — snapped
short oil* like a withered twig, and fell with a loud
plash into the ocean.

"The foremast is gone by the board!" shouted
the ofiicer of tho forecastle.

" .My Clod !" exclaimed the captainr" and Charles
Burton has gone with it ! J^o'castlc there ! Did
Charles Burton come down from the ibreyard?"

<k Burton ! Burton ! Burton !" called twenty voices,
and "Burton!" was shouted loudly over the side;
but there was no reply !

In the mean while another furious billow lifted the
vessel on its crest, and the two ships closed' again,
like gladiators, faint and stunned, but still compelled
to do battle. The bows of the stranger this time
drove heavily against the bends of the Active just
abaft her main-rigging, and her bowsprit darted

30 THE ENCOUNTER.

quivering in over the bulwarks, as if it were the
arrowy tongue of some huge sea monster. At tins,
instant a wild sound of agony, between a shriek andi
#roan, was heard in that direction, and^hose who
.turned to ascertain its cause saw, as the vessels ,
again separated, a human body, swinging and writh
ing at the stranger's bowsprit head. The vessel!
heaved up into the moonlight, and showed the face
of poor Vangs, the quarter-master, his back ap
parently crushed and broken, but his arms clasped
round the spar, to which lie appeared to cling with
convulsive tenacity. The bowsprit had caught
him on its end as it ran in over the Active's side, and
driving against the mi'/zenmast, deprived the poor
wretch of all power to rescue himself from the
dreadful situation. While a hundred eyes were
fastened in a gaze of horror on the impaled seaman,
thus dangling over the boiling ocean, the strange ship
again reeled forward, as if to renew the terrible en-
counter. But her motion was now slow and labour-
ing. She was evidently settling by the head ; she
paused in mid career, gave a heavy drunken lurch
to starboard, till her topmasts whipped against the
rigging of her antagonist, then rising slowly on the
ridge of the next wave, she plunged head foremost,
and disappeared for ever. One shriek of horror and
despair rose through the storm — one wild delirious
shriek ! The waters swept over the drowning
wretches, and hushed their gurgling cry. Then all

THE ENCOUNTER. 31

was still! — nil but the rush and whirl of waves as
they were sucked into the vortex, and the voice of
the storm, which howled its wild dirge above the
spot.

When day dawned on the ocean, the Active pre-
scntcd a different appearance from that which she
exhibited but a few short hours before. Her fore
mast gone, her bowsprit sprung, her topgallantrrmsts
struck, her bulwarks shattered, her rigging hanging
loose, and whitened by the wash of the spray — she
looked little like the gay and gallant thing which,
at the same hour of the previous day, had ploughed
her course through the sea, despite the adverse gale,
and moved proudly along under a cloud of canvass,
as if she defied the fury of the elements. Now, "how
changed ! how sad the contrast ! The appearance
of .such of the officers and crew as were moving
about the deck harmonized with that of the vessel.
They looked pale arid dejected : and the catas
trophe they had witnessed had left traces of horror
stamped on every brow. The Active was still near
the spot of the fatal event, having been lying to
under a close reefed mainsail, which the lulling of
the wind had enabled her to bear. As the dawn
advanced, the upper deck became crowded, and
long and searching looks were cast over the ocean
in every direction, in the hope to discover some
vestige of those who had met their doom during the
night. Such of the boats as had not been staved

133

\vcro lowered, and long and patient efforts were
made to discover traces of the wreck. But the
search was fruitless, and was at last reluctantly
abandoned. The boats were again hauled up and
stowed ; the Active filled away, and under such sail
as she could carry in her crippled state, crept for.
ward towards her goal. During the rest of her
voyage no merry laugh, no lively prattle, cheered
the steerage mess-table. The bright eyes of Charles
Burton were closed — his silvery voice was hushed
— his gay heart was cold — and his messmates
mourned his timeless fate with real sorrow.

In a few days, the Sloop of War reached her
port, and was immediately warped to the dock-yard,
where she was stripped, hove down, and thoroughly
overhauled. The officers and crew lent themselves
earnestly to the duty, and a short time served to
accomplish it. In less than a week, every thing set
up and all a-taunto, the ship hauled out again,
gleaming with fresh paint, and looking as proud
and stately as before the disaster. But where was
she that had been wrecked in the encounter ? Where
and who were tho.sc thiit perished witli her? Fond
hearts were doubtless eagerly awaiting them, and
anxious eyes strained over the ocean " to hail the
bark that never could return." No word, no whis
per ever told their fate. They who saw them per-
ish knew not the victims, and the deep gave not up
its dead.

A NIGHT AT GIBRALTAR.

THE:

of Get]

and its
scenery
UU
for the i
teriglii
and bot
steed ft
with i!x
;

A NIGHT AT GIBRALTAR.

The raisUboil up around rno, and tho clouds
Rise curling fast beneath me, white and sulphury f
Liko foam from tho roused ocoan of deep boll.

I nm most nick nt heart — nay, £rai»p rno not —

I a:n all feeb!eno>s — the mountains whirl

Spinning cround mo— I grow blind — What art thou J

Byron,

THE first time I ever saw the famous Rock of
"Gibraltar was on a glorious afternoon in the month
of October. The sun diffused just heat enough
through the air to give it an agreeable temperature,
and its soft and somewhat hazy light, showed the
scenery of the Straits to the best advantage. We
had had a rough, but uncommonly short passage ;
for the wind, though tempestuous, had blown from
the right quarter; and our gallant frigate dashed
and bounded over tnc waves before it, "like a
steed that knows his rider." I could not then add
with the poet, from whom I have borrowed this
quotation, "Welcome to their roar !" for I was a
novice on the ocean in those days, and had not en
tirely recovered from certain uneasy sensations

36 A NIGHT AT GIBRALTAR. ..I

about the region of the epigastrium, which by no1
means rendered the noise of rushing waters the
most agreeable sound to my cars, or the rolling of
the vessel the most pleasant motion for my body.
Never did old sea-dog of a sailor, in the horse lati
tudes, pray more sincerely for a wind, than I did for
a calm, during that boisterous passage ; and never,
I may add, did the selfish prayer of a sinner prove
less availing. The gale kept " due on the Propontic
and the Hellespont," and it )lew so hard that it
sometimes seemed to lift our old craft almost out of
water. When we came out of port, we had had our
dashy fair-weather spars aloft, with skysail yards
athwart, a moonsail to the main, and hoist enough
for the broad blue to show itself above that. But
before the pilot left us, our topgallant-poles were
under the boom-cover, and storm-stumps in their,
places ; and the first watch was scarcely relieved,
when the boatswain's call — repeated by four mates,
whose lungs seemed formed on purpose to outroar
a. tempest — rang through the ship, " All hands to
house topgallantmasts, ahoy !" From that time till
we made the land, the gale continued with unintcr-
mittccl violence, to the great delight of the old tars,
and the manifest annoyance of the green reefers, of
whom we had rather an unusual number on board.
If my pen were endued with the slightest portion of the
quality which distinguished Hogarth's pencil, I might

A NIGHT AT GIBRALTAR. 37

here give a description of a man-of-war's steerage
in a storrn, which should force a smile from the
most saturnine reader. I must own I did not much
relish the humour of the scene then — pars mognafui
— that is, I was sea-sick myself; but often since,
sometimes in my hammock, sometimes during a cold
mid. watch on deck, I have burst into a hearty laugh,
as the memory of our grotesque distresses, and of
the odd figures we cut during that passage, has
glanced across my mind.

But the longest day must have an end, and the
stillest breeze cannot last for ever. The wind, which
for a forfnight had been blowing as hard as a trum
peter for a wager, blew itself out at last. About dawn
one morning it began to lull, and by the time the sun
was fairly out of the water, it full flat calm. It was
rny morning watch, and what with sea-sickness,
hard duty, and having been cabined, cribbed, confined
for so long a time in my narrow and unaccustomed
lodgings, I felt worn out, and in no mood to exult in
the choice I had made of a profession. I stood hold-
ing by one of the belaying pins of the main fife-rail,
for I had not yet, as the sailors phrase it, got my
seaJegs aboard, and I looked, I suppose, as melan
choly as a sick monkey on a lee backstay, when 'a
cry from the foretopsail-yard reached my ear, that
instantly thrilled to my heart, and set the blood run
ning in a lively current through my veins. " Land,
oh!" cried the jack-tar on the lookout, in a cable-

38 A NIGHT AT G1HKALTAK.

tier voice, which seemed to issue from the bottom of
his stomach. I have heard many delightful sounds
in. my time, but few which seemed plcasanter than
the rough voice of that vigilant sailor. 1 do verily
believe, that not seven bells (grog time of day) to a
thirsty tar, the dinner bell to a hungry alderman, or
the passing bell of some rich old curmudgeon to a
prodigal heir, ever gave greater- rapture. The
how-d'ye-do of a friend, the good-by of a country
cousin, the song of tiie Signorlna, and Paganini's
fiddle, may all have music in them ; but the cry of
land to a sea-sick midshipman is sweeter than them
all.

We made what, in nautical language, is termed a
good land-fall — so good, indeed, that it was well for
us the night and the wind both ceased when they
did; for, had they lasted another hour, we should
have found ourselves landed, and in a way that even
I, much as I wished to set my foot once more on
terra firma, should not have relished very much.
On its becoming light enough to ascertain our
whereabout, it was discovered that we were within
the very jaws of the Straits, completely land-locked
by the "steepy shore," where

" Europe and Afric on each other gozo ;"

and already beginning to feel the influence of the
strong and ceaseless easterly current which rushes
into the Mediterranean through that passage at the
rate of four or five knots an hour. A gentle land-

A NIGHT AT GIBRALTAR. 39

breeze sprung up in the course of the morning
watch, which, though not exactly fair, yet coming
from the land of the " dusky Moor," had enough
of southing in it to enable us, with the set of the
current, to get along tolerably well, beating with a
long and a short leg through the Straits.

But there is no reason that I should make my
story of the passage as tedious as the reality; so,
here's fur a fair breeze and square away ! And
now, let the reader fancy himself riding at anchor
in the beautiful but unsafe bay of Gibraltar, Directly
opposite and almost within the very shadow of the
grand and gigantic fortress, which nature and art
have vied with each other in rendering, impregnable.
No one who has looked on that vast and forted rock,
with its huge granite outline shown in bold relief
against the clear sky of the south of Europe — its
towering and ruin-crowned peaks — its enormous
crags, caverns, and precipices — and its rich histori
cal associations, shedding a powerful though vague
interest over every feature — can easily forget the
impression which that imposing and magnificent
spectacle creates. The flinty mass rising abruptly
to an elevation of fifteen hundred feet, and surround-
cd on every side b v* the waters of the Mediterranean,
save a narrow slip of level sand which stretches
from its northern end and connects it with the main
land, has, added to its other claims to admiration,
the strong interest of utter insolation.

40 A NIGHT AT GIBRALTAR.

For a while, the spectator gazes on the "stu
pendous whole" with an expression of pleased
wonder at its height, extent, and strength, and
without becoming conscious of the various oppo
site features which make up its grand effect of
sublimity and beauty. He sees only the giant
rock spreading its vast dark mass against the
sky, its broken and wavy ridge, its beetling pro
jections, its "steep down gulfs," and dizzy precipices
of a thousand fuet perpendicular descent. After a
tune, his eye becoming in some degree familiarized
with the main and sterner features of the scene, he
perceives that the granite mountain is variegated by
here and there some picturesque work of art, or
spot of green beauty, smiling with surpassing love
liness in contrast with the savage roughness around
it. Dotted about at long intervals over the steep
sides of the craggy mass, arc seen the humble cot
tages of the soldiers' wives, or, perched on the very
edges of the clilKs, the guard-houses of the garrison ;
before which, ever and anon, .may be descried the
vigilant sentry, dwindled to a pigmy, walking to and
fro on his allotted and dangerous post. Now and
then, the eye detects a more sumptuous edifice, half
hid in a grove of acacias, orange, and almond trees,
clustering around it, as if to shut from the view of its
inhabitant, in his eyrie-like abode, the scene ofdeso.
late grandeur above, beneath hiin, and on every
side. At the foot of the rock, on a small and nar
row slip, less precipitous than the rest, stands the

A NIGHT AT GIBRALTAR. 41

town of Gibraltar, which, as seen from the bay,
with its. dark-coloured houses, built in the Spanish
style, and rising one above another in ampithcatri-
cal order; the ruins of the Moorish castle and dc-
fences in the rear ; and the high massive walls which
enclose it at the water's edge, and v.'hich, thick, planted
with cannon, seem formed to "laugh a seige to
scorn,'* has a highly picturesque effect. The mili
tary works of Gibraltar are on a scale of magnifi
cence commensurate with the natural grandeur of
the scene. Its wails, its batteries, and its moles,
v/hich, bristling with cannon, stretch far out into tho
bay, and against whose solid structures the waves
spend their fury in vain, arc works of art planned
with great genius, and executed with consummate
skill. An indefinite sensation of awe mixes with
the stranger's feelings, as gazing upon the defences
which every where meet his eye, he remembers, that
the strength of Gibraltar consists not in its visible
works alone, but that, hewn in the centre of the vast
and perpendicular rock, there are long galleries and
ample chambers, where the engines of war are kept
always ready, and whence, at any moment, the fires
of death may be poured down upon an assailant.

Though the rock is the chief feature of interest in
the bay of Gibraltar, yet, when fatigued by long
gazing on its barren and solitary grandeur, there
are not wanting. other objects on which the eye of
the stranger may repose with pleasure. The green

•V.;' A NIG JIT AT GIBRALTAR.

shore? of Andalusia, encircling the bay in their semi-
circ'i? ir sweep, besides the attraction which ver-
diu.t itills and valleys always possess, have the super-
added charm of being linked with many classical
and r-.mantic associations. The picturesque towns
of Si. lloque and Algesiras, the one crowning a
*niOv,-!:i eminence at some distance from the shore,
an'.l t!ic other occupying a gentle declivity that sinks
gradually down to the sparkling waters of the bay
— the mountains of Spain, fringed with cork forests,
in the back ground — the dimly seen coast of Morocco
across the Straits, with the white walls of Ceuta just
discernible on one of its promontories — the tower
ing form of Abila, which not even the unromantic
modern name of Apes-hill can devcst of all its in
terest as one of "the trophies of great Hercules" —
these arc all attractive features in the natural land
scape, and, combined, render it a scene of exceeding
beauty.

The clear blue waters of the bay itself common
ly present an appearance of great variety and ani
mation. Here may at all times be seen, moored
closely together, a numerous fleet of vessels, from
every quarter of the globe, of every fashion of struc
ture, and manned by beings of every creed, land,
arid colour. The flags and pennons which float from
their masts, the sounds which rise from their decks,
and the appearance and employments of the moving
throngs upon them, all tend to heighten the charm.

A NIGHT AT GIBRALTAR. 43

of novelty and variety. In one place, may bo seen,
perhaps, a shattered and dismantled hulk, on board
of which some exiled Spanish patriot, with his family,
has taken refuge, dwelling there full in the sight of
his native land, which yet he can scarcely hope ever
to tread again : in another — on the high latticed
stern of a tall, dark-looking craft, whoso raking
masts, black bends, and trig, warlike appearance
excite a doubt whether she be merchantman or
pirate — a group of Turks, in their national and
beautiful costume, smoking their long chiboques with
an air of as much gravity as if they were engaged in a
matter on which their lives, or the lives of their
whole race, depended. Beside them lies a heavy,
clumsy dogger, on board of which a company of
industrious, slow-moving Dutchmen arc engaged in
trafficking away their cargo of cheese, butter, Bo-
logna sausages, and real Schiedam; and not far
away from these, a crew of light-hearted Genoese
sailors arc stretched at length along the deck of their
polacca, chanting, in voices made musical by dis.
tance, one of the rich melodies with which their
language abounds. Boats are continually passing
hither and thither between the vessels and the shore ;
arid every now and then, along and slender felucca,
with its slanting yards, and graceful lateen sails,
glides across the bay, laden with the products of tho
fruitful soil of Andalusia, which are destined to sup.

44 A NIGHT AT GIBRALTAR.

ply tho tables of the pent-up inhabitants of the gar
rison. .

I have mentioned that it was on a fine day in Oc
tober that we arrived at Gibraltar, and I have ac
cordingly sketched the Rock, and the adjacent
scenery, as they appeared to me through the mellow
light of that pleasant afternoon. To one viewing
the scene from a different point from that which I
occupied, our own gallant frigate would have pre
sented no unattractive object in the picture. While
we were beating through the Straits, the gunner's
crew had been employed in blacking the bends,
somewhat rusty from the constant wash of a stormy
sea; and we had embraced the opportunity of the
gentle land breeze to replace our taunt fair-weather
poles, and to bend and send aloft topgallant-sails,
royals, and skysails, for which there had not before
been any recent occasion. Thus renewed, and all
a-taunto, with our glossy sides glistening in the sun,
our flags flying, and the broad blue streaming at
the main, there was no object in all that gay and
animated bay on which the eye could rest with
greater pleasure. The bustle consequent upon
:oming to anchor was, among our active and dis
ciplined crew, of but brief duration. In a very few
ninutcs, every yard was squared with the nicest
precision ; every rope hauled taught, and laid down
n a handsome Flemish coil upon the deck ; and the

A NIGHT AT GIBRALTAR. 45

vast symmetrical bulk, with nothing to indicate its
recent bufferings with the storm, lay floating quietly
on the bright surface,

u As idlo QS a painted ship '»

Upon a painted ocean."

I had been on duty ever since the previous mid-
night, but I felt no disposition to go below. For
more than an hour after the boatswain piped down,
I remained on deck, gazing, with unsatcd eyes, on
the various and attractive novelties around me. A
part of the fascination of the scene was doubtless
owing to that feeling of young romance, which invests
every object with the colours of the imagination ; and
a part, to its contrast with the dull and monotonous
prospect to which 1 had lately been confined, till my
heart fluttered, like a caged bird, to be once moro
among the green trees and rustling grass — to sco
fields covered with golden grain, and swelling away
in their fine undulations — to scent the pleasant odour
of the meadows, and range at will through those
leafy forests, which, I began to think, were ill ex-
changed for the narrow and heaving deck of 'a forty,
four. Thoughts of this kind mingled with my
musings, as I leaned over the taffercl, with my eyes
bent on the verdant hills and slopes of Spain; and
so absorbed was I in contemplation, that I heard not
my name pronounced, till it was repeated two or
three times, by the officer of the deck.

"Mr. Transom!" cried he, in a quick and irn-

46 A XIGHT AT GIBRALTAR.

patient voice, " are you deaf or asleep, sir ? Here,
jump into the first cutter alongside ! Would you keep
the commodore waiting all -day?"

I felt my check redden at this speech of the lieu
tenant — one of those popinjays who, dressed in a
little brief authority, think to show their own conse
quence by playing off impertinent airs upon those of
inferior station. I had seen enough of naval ser
vice, however, to know that no good comes of re
plying to the insolence of a superior ; so, suppressing
the answer that rose to my lips, I hastened down
the side into the boat, in the stern-sheets of which
my commander was already seated.
" Shove off, sir," said he.

"Let fall! give way!" cried I to the men, who
sprang to their oars with alacrity, making the boat
skim through the water lightly and fleetly as a swal
low through the air. In five minutes wo were
floating alongside the stone- quay at tho Water.Port
— as the principal and strongly fortified entrance to
the garrison from the bay is called.

" You will wait here for me," said the commodore,
as he stepped outof the boat. " Should I not return
before the gate, is closed, pull round to tho Ragged-
Stall"," (the name of the other landing-place,) " and
wait there."

" Ay, ay, sir." But though I answered promptly,
and with a tone of alacrity, I was not, in truth,
very well pleased at the prospect of a long and

A NIGHT AT GIBRALTAR. 47

tedious piece of service, fatigued ns I already was
with my vigil of the previous night, and the active
duties of the day. Little cared the old commodore,
however, whether I was pleased or ofiended. With
out honouring me with a look, he turned away as
lie gave the order, and stepping quickly over the
drawbridge which connects the quay with the for
tress, disappeared under the massive archway of the
gate.

For a while, the scene at the Water-Port afforded
abundant amusement. The quay, beside which our
boat was lying, is a small octangular wharf, construct
ed of hugu blocks of granite, strongly cemented
together. It is the only place which boats, except
those belonging to the garrison, or national vessels
in the harbour, are permitted to approach; and though
but a few yards square in extent, is enfiladed in
several directions by frowning batteries of granite,
mounted with guns, of which a single discharge
would shiver tho whole structure to atoms. Mcr.
chant vessels lying in the bay arc unloaded by
means of lighters, which, with the boats of passage
continually plying between the shipping and the
shore, and the market-boats from the adjacent coast
of Spain, all crowd round this narrow quay, render,
ing it. a place of singular business and bustle. As
the sunset hour approaches, the activity and con-
fusion increases. Crowds of people, of all nations,
and every variety of costume and language, jostle

C3

48 A NIGHT AT GIBRALTAR.

each other as they hurry through the gate. The
stately Greek, in his embroidered jacket,' rich purple
cap, and flowing capote, strides carelessly along.
The Jew, with bent h ,-ad, shaven crown, and coarse,
though not unpicturesque gaberdine, glides with a
noiseless step through the crowd, turning from side
to side quick wary glances from underneath his
downcast brows. The Moor, wrapped close in his
white bernoosc, stalks sullenly apart, as if he alone
had no business in the stirring scene; while the
noisy Spaniard at his side wages an obstreperous
argument, or shouts in loud guttural sounds for his
boat. French, English, and Americans, oflicers,
merchants, and sailors, arc all intermingled in the
motley mass, each engaged in his own business, and
each adding his part to the Babel-like clamour of
tongues. High on the walls, the sentinels, with
their' arms glistening in the sun, walk to arid fro on
their posts, and look down with indiQerence or ab
straction on the scene of hurry and turmoil beneath
them.

Among the various striking figures that attracted
my attention, as I reclined in the stern-sheets of the
cutter, gazing on the shifting throng before me,
there was one the appearance arid manners of whom
awakened peculiar interest. He was a tall, muscu
lar, dark-looking Spaniard, whoso large frarne^ and
strong and well proportioned limbs were set olf to
good advantage by the national dress of the pea-

A NIGHT AT GIBRALTAR. 49

santry of his country. His sombrero, slouched in
a studied manner over his eyes, as if to conceal their
fierce rolling balls, shaded a face, the sun-burnt hue
of which showed that it had not always been so
carefully protected. From the crimson sash which
was bound round his waist, concealing the connex
ion of his embroidered velvet jacket with his nether
garments, a long knife depended ; and this, together
with a sinister expression of countenance, and an in-
dcscribablc something in the general air and bear
ing of the man, created an impression which caused
me to shrink involuntarily from him whenever he ap
proached the boat. He himself seemed actuated by
similar feelings. On first meeting my eye, he drew
his sombrero deeper over his brow, and hastily re
tired to another part of the quay; but every now
and then I could seo his dark face above a group
of the intervening throng, and his keen black eyes
seemed always directed towards me, till, perceiving
that I noticed him, he would turn away, and mix
again among the remoter portion of the crowd.

I endeavoured to follow this singular figure in
one of his windings through the multitude, when my
attention was drawn in another direction by a loud,
long call from a bugle, sounded within the walls,
and, in an instant after, repeated with a clearer and
louder blast from their summit* This signal gave
new motion and activity to the crowd. A few hur
ried from the quay into the garrison, but a greater

50 A NIGHT AT GIBRALTAR.

number poured from the interior, and hastily crossed
the drawbridge to the quay, and all appeared anx
ious to depart. Boat after boat was drawn up, re-
ceived its burden, and darted ofF, while others took
their places, and were in turn soon filled by the retir
ing crowd. Soldiers from the garrison came out
upon the quay to urge the tardy into qulckcr.motion ;
mingled shouts, calls, and curses resounded on every
side ; and for a few minutes confusion seemed worse
confounded. But in a short time the last loiterer
was hurried away — the last felucca shoved off, and
was seen gliding on it course, the sound of its oars
almost drowned in the noisy gabble of its Andalusian
crew. As soon as the quay became entirely de
serted, the military returned within the walls, and a
pause of silence ensued — then pealed the sunset gun
from the summit of the rock — the drawbridge, by
some unseen agency, was rolled slowly back, till it
disappeared within the arched passage — the ponde
rous gates turned on their enormous hinges — and
Gibraltar was closed for the night against the world.

D O

Thus shut out at the Water-Port, I directed the
boat's crew, in compliance with my orders, to pull
round to the Ragged-Staff. The wall at this
place is of great height, and near its top is left a
small gate, at an elevation of fifty or sixty feet above
the quay, which projects into the bay beneath. It is
attained by a spiral staircase, erected about twenty
feet from the wall, and communicating with it at the

A NIGHT AT GIBRALTAR. 51

top by means of a drawbridge. This gate is little
used, except for the egress of those who arc per
mitted to leave the garrison after nightfall. On
reaching the quay, I sprang ashore, and walking to
a favourable position, endeavoured to amuse myself
once more by contemplating from this new point of
view the hills and distant mountains of Spain. But
the charm was now fled. Night was fast stealing
over the landscape, and rendering its features misty
and indistinct : a change, too, had taken place in my
own feelings, since, a few hours before, I had found
so mucli pleasure in dwelling on the scene around
me. I was now cold, fatigued, and hungry : my
eyes had been fed with novelties until 'they were
weary with gazing : my mind had been crowded
with a succession of new images, until its vigour was
exhausted. I cast my eyes up to the Rock, but it
appeared cold and desolate in the deepening twi
light, and I turned from its steep, flinty sides, and
dreadful precipices, with a shudder. The waves
and ripples of the bay, which the increasing evening
wind had roughened, broke against the quay where
I was standing with a sound that created a chilly
sensation at my heart. Even the watch-dog's bark,
from on board some vessel in the bay, gave me no
pleasure, as it was borne faintly to my car by the
eastern breeze ; for it was associated with sounds of
home, and awakened me to a painful consciousness
of tho distance I had wandered, and the fatigues and

52 '" A NIGHT AT GIBRALTAR.

perils to which I was exposed ; and a train of somhro
thoughts, despite my efforts to drive them away, took
possession of my mind.

At length, yielding to their influence, I climbed to
the top of a rude heap of stones, which had been
piled on the end of the pier, and seating myself where
my eye could embrace every portion of the shadowy
landscape, I gave free rein to melancholy fancies.
My wandering thoughts roamed over a thousand
subjects ; but one subject predominated over all. My
memory recalled many images ; but one image it
presented with the vividness of life., and dwelt on
with the partiality of love. It was the image of one
who had been the object of my childhood's love,
whom I had loved in boyhood, and whom now, in
opening manhood, I still loved with a passionate
and daily increasing affection. Linked with the
memory of that s\vcet being, came thoughts of the
rival who had sought to win her heart from me,
and who, foiled in his purpose, had conceived and
avowed the bitterest enmity to me : — and from him,
my thoughts glided, under the influence of some
strange association, to the tall and singular-looking
Spaniard whom I had seen at the Water-Port. In
this way my vagrant meditations ranged from topic
to topic, with all that wildncss of transition which is
sometimes produced by the excitement of opium.

"While thus engaged, I kno\v not how long
a time slipped by ; but at length rny thoughts

A NIGHT AT GIBRALTAR. 53

began to grow less distinct, and my eyes to feel
heavy ; and had I not been restrained by a sense of
shame and duty as an officer, I should have been
glad to resign myself to sleep. 'My eyelids, in des
pite of me, did o ;ce or twice close for -an instant or
two ; and it was in an effort to arouse myself from
one of these little attacks of somnolency, that I v/os
startled by seeing an object before me, the appear,
ancc of whom in that place struck me with surprise.
The moon had risen, and was just shedding a thin
and feeble glimmer over the top of the Rock, the
broad deep shadow of which extended almost to the
spot where I was sitting. Emerging from this
shadow, I saw approaching me the identical Spa-
niard whoso malign expression of countenance and
general appearance had so strongly attracted my
attention at the Water-Port. That it was the same
I could not doubt, for his height, his dress, his air,
all corresponded exactly. He had the same long
peculiar step ; he still wore the same large sombrero,
which, as before, was drawn deep over his brows;
the same glistening knife was thrust through his sash ;
and the same fantastically stamped leather gaiters
covered his legs. He approached close to me, and
in a voice, which, though hardly above a whisper,'
thrilled me to the bone, informed me that the com-
modore had sent for me, and bade me follow him.
As he spoke these words he turned away, and walked

tf>U/n Vita tlir» nrn.vvionrt .QM-»r>11 r f*n,-rt -!* rr/-.n + lr» vnnt'l

54 A MGHT AT GIBRALTAR.

er? — A sensation of fear crept over me at the idea
that I was to follow this herculean and sinister-look
ing Spaniard, and I had some faint misgivings wheth
er I ought to obey his summons. But I reflected
that he Avas probably a servant or messenger of
some officer or family where the commodore was
visiting; that l:e could have no motive to mislead
me ; and that, were I to neglect obeying the order
through apprehension of its bearer, because he was
tall, had whiskers, and wore a sombrero, I should
deservedly bring down upon myself the ridicule of
every midshipman in the Mediterranean. Besides,
thought I, how foolish should I feel, if it should turn
out, as is very likely, that this is some ball or party
to which the commodore has been urged to stay,
and, unwilling to keep me waiting for him so long
in this dreary place, he has sent to invite me to join
him. This last reflection turned the scale; so slip
ping down from my perch, I followed towards the
gate. The form of the stranger had already dis
appeared in the shadow of the Rock ; but on reach
ing the foot of the spiral staircase which led up to
the drawbridge, I could hear his heavy tread as
cending the steps. Directly after, the gate was un
barred, the bridge lowered, and a footstep crossing
it announced that the Spaniard was within the walls.
I followed as rapidly as I could, and got within the
gate just in time to see the form of rny conductor
disappear round one of the angles of the fortifica.

A NIGHT AT GIBRALTAR. 55

tions ; but quickening my pace, I overtook him as he
reached the foot of a path winch seemed to ascend
towards the southern end of the Rock.

" This way lies the town," said I, pointing in the op-
positc direction ; " you surely have mistaken the
route."

The Spaniard made no answer, but pointed with
his hand up the narrow and difficult path, and beck-
oning me to follow him, began the ascent. The
moon shone on his countenance for a moment as ho
turned towards me, and I thought I could perceive
that the sinister expression which had been one of
the first things that drew my attention to him, was
now aggravated into a smile of more decided malig
nity. I continued to follow, however, and struggled
hard to overtake him. J3ut the path was steep and
very rugged, and my conductor walked with great
speed. His footing seemed sure as that of the
mountain goat. I became wearied, exhausted,
almost ready to drop with fatigue, and with all my
efforts was unable to diminish the interval between
us. The ascent continually grew more difficult*
and it soon became so steep, indeed, that 1 could
scarcely clamber up it. My feet were bruised
through the thin soles of my pumps, and in toiling on
my hands and knees over some of the most abrupt
pitches, the jagged points of the rock penetrated my
flesh. After thus slowly and painfully groping my
way for a considerable distance, we at lenirth reach-

56 A NIGHT AT GIBRALTAR.

ed a place where the path pursued a level course —
but what a path ! what a place ! A narrow ledge,
scarce two feet wide, had been formed, partly by
nature, partly by art, at the height of a thousand
feat above the water, around a sweep of the rock
where it rose perpendicularly from its base to its
extreme summit. This ledge was covered with
loose stones, which, at every step, fell rattling and
thundering down the mighty precipice, till the sound
died a\yay in the immense depths below. 1 could
not conjecture whither the Spaniard was leading
me; but I had now gone too far to think of retreat
ing. Every step was now at the hazard of life.
The ledge was so narrow, the loose stones which
covered it rolled so easily from under my. feet, and
my knees trembled so violently from fear and fatigue,
that I could scarcely hope to continue much further
in safety over such a pathway. At last we reached
a broader spot. I sunk down exhausted, yet with
a feeling of joy that I had escaped from the perilous
path I had just been treading. The Spaniard stood
beside me, and I thought a smile of malign satisfac
tion played round his lips as he looked down upon
me, panting at his feet. He suffered me to rest but
a moment, when he motioned me to rise. I obeyed
the signal, as if it were the behest of my evil genius.

" Look round you," said he, " and tell me what
you behold !"

J glanced my eyes round, and shuddering, with-

A NIGHT AT GIBRALTAR. 57

drew them from the fearful prospect. The ledge or
platform on which we were standing was but a fcv/
feet square ; behind, a largo and gloomy cavern
opened its black jaws ; and in front, the rock de*
sccnded to the sea with so perpendicular a front, that
a stone, dropped from its edge, would have fallen
without interruption straight down into the waves.

"Arc you ready to make the leap ?" said tho
Spaniard, in a smooth, sneering tone, seeing, and
seeming to enjoy, the terror of my countenance.

" For heaven's sake/' cried I, "who are you? and
why am I made your victim?''

"Look1!" cried lie, throwing the sombrero from
his head, and approaching close to me, "look ! know
you not these features? They are those of him
whose path you have crossed- once, but shall never
cross again!"

He seized hold of me as he spoke, with a fiendish
grasp, and strove to hurl me headlong from the rock.
I struggled with all the energy of desperation, and
for a moment bailled the design. lie released his
hold round my body, and stepping back, stood an
instant gazing on me with the glaring ^eyeballs of a
tiger about to spring upon its prey; then darting
towards me, he grappled me with both hands round
the throat, arid dragged me, despite my struggling,
to the very verge of the precipice. With a power-
ful exertion of strength, which I was no longer
ablo to resist, he dashed my body over the edge,

D

OS A NIGHT AT GIBRALTAR. .

ftncl held me out at arm's length above the dread
abyss. The agony of years of wretchedness com.
pressed into a single second, could not exceed the
horror of the moment I remained so suspended.
There was a small tree or bush which grew out of
a cleft just beneath the ledge. In my despairing,
frantic struggle, I caught hold of a branch of it, just
nt the critical instant when the Spaniard relaxed
liis grasp, intending to drop me down the fearful
gulf. His purpose was again baillcd for another
moment of horror. He gnashed his teeth as he
fiaw me swing off upon the fragile branch, which
cracked and bent beneath my weight, and, at most,
could save me from his fury but for a fleeting mo
ment. That moment seemed too long for his
impatient hate. He sprang to the very verge
of the ledge, and placing his foot firmly on the tree,
pressed it down with all his strength. In vain, with
chattering teeth and horror-choked voice, I implored
him to desist. He answered not, but stamped
furiously on the tree. The root began to give way
- — the loosened dirt fell from around it — the trunk
snapped, cracked, and separated — and the fiend set
up an inhuman laugh, which rung in my cars like
the mocking of a demon, as down — down — down I
O, through the chill, thick, pitchy air, till striking

with a mighty force on the roeks beneath 1

>vakcd, and lo, it was a dream!

It was broad daylight. In my sleep I had rolled from

A NIGHT AT GIBRALTAR. 59

the heap of stones which had furnished me with my
evening seat of meditation, and which, during my sleep,
had supplied my imagination with abundant materials
for yawnhg gulfs and chasms. The laugh of the
infernal Spaniard turned out to be only a burst of in-
nocent merriment at my plight from little Paul Mes
senger, a rosy, curly-haired midshipman, and ono
of the finest little fellows in the world. The matter
was soon explained. The commodore, returning to
the boat, and seeing me sleeping on a bed of my own
choosing, as he expressed it, had chosen to punish
me by leaving me to my slumbers. So shoving oft',
without waking me, he had returned to the ship ; on
reaching which, however, he gave the ofliccr of the
deck directions to send a boat for me at daylight.
Little Paul, always ready to do a kind act, asked to
go officer of her ; and we pulled back to the frigate,
laughing over my story of the imaginary adventures
of the night.

MERRY TERRY.

MERRY TERRY,

His breast with wounds unnumbered riven,
His back to earth, his face to heaven,
Fallen Hassan lies—his unclosed eyo
Yet lowering on hit) enemy,
Asiflho hour that seaU-cl hiufato,
Surviving left Ms quenchless hnte:
And o'er him hcnila his foe, with brow
As dark as his that bled below.

ME, spin us a yarn, Jack, my boy," said a
curly-headed, rosy-cheeked young midshipman, to old
Jack Palmer, one evening, as the vessel to which they
were attached was running down the Spanish Main,
before as sweet a breeze as ever filled a topgallant-
sail. Jack Palmer was an old sea-dog, and a
clever fellow, — that is to say, in the Yankee sense
of the word. He had seen all sorts of service, and
knew all sorts of stories, which were perhaps not
the less amusing for the nautical phraseology in
which, they were expressed. lie w-is master's mate
of the gun-deck ; hut when called upon for a story
by Rosy Willy, (tire name of the little reefer that
had asked Jack fora yarn,) his business for the day

n i